After a 5 year struggle with anorexia (with purging tendencies), depression, self harm and over exercising I have now been recovered for 4 years and i use my blog to help others in the same situation i once was.
I am now a happy and positive person who wants to inspire those struggling to choose recovery and to take control over life and happiness again!

Life without Anorexia

My motto is 'Dont let the sadness of your past & the fear of your future ruin the happiness of your present'

My life at the moment is completely different to how it once was. I spent 5 years sick with anorexia nervosia and depression as well as struggling with self harm and overexercising. I spent 2 years in different treatment centres.

And since 2012 i have been declared healthy from my eating disorder.

I have been blogging for 7 years, and my whole journey is written in my posts. I now represent healthy and happiness. I want to show anyone struggling that it is possible to recover, no matter how hard it may seem.

I now blog about recovery, my life, veganism and positivity!

If you have any questions leave them in the comment section as i am much quicker at answering there, otherwise you can always send an email: lifewithoutanorexia@hotmail.com

Translate

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

How to save money (on groceries)

I got asked if i could write a post about saving money... and well, you can save money in many different ways, but it also depends on what area you want to try to save money from.. or what it is you want to limit spending money on. As this is a recovery blog, and well alot of food is involved in recovery and that is not always easy to buy i thought i would write a post about how to save money on groceries but STILL hopefully eat the right energy amount.

To start off, when you follow a meal plan there is usually alot of food to be bought. For me personally i went through 1l yoghurt and roughly 2 l juice (carton) per day as well as lots of other food. And when i was at home my mum always had to make sure that the food on my meal plan was at home - and was the same product - because otherwise i would freak out. Food was - and is - very expensive to buy and we did go through economical issues because of it... the priority was for me to get healthy and that meant i had to eat and eat alot and so the focus was on buying the food i needd. But it did happen that changes had to be made to fit our economic situation at the time.

Another thing which i want to add in is to NOT FEEL GUILTY ABOUT THE MONEY YOU ARE SPENDING ON THE FOOD. Not if you are actually eating it anyway - because the food is HELPING YOU. It is what your body needs... it is much better to put money on food to help your body than to buy perfume and shoes etc but of course, yyou do want to live life and be able to meet friends or go to the cinema etc and so being smart with what food you buy is always a good option!
And also to add... if you are purging or compensating your food or throwing it away, then the guilt you feel can be good because it reminds you that you are throwing away money... and if its your own or your parents hard worked money, that is a waste and yes, a cause for guilt which might make you change your ways.

So.... how to save money.

Buy large packs of steel cut oatmeal. - Ok, not everyone likes oatmeal but it is delicious!!! You can add plain salt/sugar/cinnamon/berries/fruit/nuts/seed/jam/nut butters etc or you can make overnight oats or baked oatmeal. You can make oatmeal pancakes, use oatmeal in smoothies, use oatmeal as a base for cooking or making a pizza base. You can use it as a scrub as well XD. You can make rawfood balls, flapjacks, home made granola, oatmeal cookies etc etc
So many things you can do with oatmeal and its all cheap... as well as the other ingredients for making things!!

Buy frozen vegetables. Much cheaper than fresh vegetables and they last longer.Buy fry beans and cook them yourself. My favourite is chickpeas... we usually buy a bag of chickpeas which we then have to let soak for 6-8 hours and then cook them. (So this takes a while) but then we get like 3 LARGE pots of chickpeas which we freeze or make chickpea burgers, falafels, hummus, pie bases, in baking, a form of cookie dough etc etc. Beans are also a great source of protein and carbs... so eat more beans!!! Cheap and delicious :):) (Search for chickpea recipes - there are many!)Buy bulgur and couscous. Simple to make and last a long time.... and add different spices each time!Bananas - often cheap. (Though the organic ones are usually more expensive) but they are a great source of energy and you can bake with them or add them as toppings etcBake!!! Things like flapjacks, raw food bars, oatmeal bars, oatmeal cookies, oatmeal muffins etc are great snacks which you can have with you and you save money and usually contain a good amount of energy!

Make large meals and freeze in. If you make things like bulgur, couscous, chickpeas/food with chickpeas etc etc then portion it out for a few meals and have left overs!!! Very economical :) And saves time.

Food such as tuna, cod, mackerel are often cheap. So if you enjoy fish, they are good options.

Bake your own bread or crisp bread and other things. Making your own bread is a great idea! I personally love THIS recipe as its simple to make, delicious and few ingredients!

Use discounts if you can and if there are extra prices buy them!Eat more calorie dense food and buy big packs!! Skip the low fat, 0 calorie foods... if you are on a tight budget and need to eat enogh energy then go for the more claorie dense food so you get more your money! And also buy big packs! (That however can be a problem if you struggle with binge eating disorder, but it is helpful!)
Make a list of what you will eat each day/for the week and then buy just that each week. Also its better to go to a bigger shop than to go to a small local shop as the prices are often more expensive.
Cut things like soda, gum and other unnecessary things... example for myself, when i dont have so much money a certain month then i dont buy energy drinks or coffee when im out. I dont buy protein bars etc

If things are hard economically you might not be able to eat exactly what you want, and you might have to change some things on the meal plan... if you can talk to the person who made your meal plan and explain that to them. Because you can't always afford to eat meat or fish with all your meals or to consume 1 l yoghurt a day or drink 1l milk per day.

I hope this helps and remember you NEED food. Even if its tough economically, then ask for help... plan out your monthly buget where food is in the top 5 with things like rent, phone bills, loans etc Food IS a priotity, not just an option but something you need everyday. And if you need to gain weight then you really need to make sure you are eating enough!!

5 comments:

:) this is great! thanks izzy!:) izzy have you ever writen a post about indecisiveness when choosing snacks/meals for your meal plan? this is something i really have an issue with, i know it sounds really silly, but often if i cant decide what to have as asnack i just end up eating nothing at all? Its like I can't choose my own meals/snacks by myself. :( xxx

The anonymous got a chance to answer before me ! ! But gave an awesome answer - couldn't answer better! ! You need to eat, so if you feel to indecisive then make someone choose for you..m or preferably, flip a coin!

Follow this blog with bloglovin

About Me

Hello :)
I have had Anorexia and depression for c.a 5 years and been in and out of hospital for 2 years. But now im living my life like a normal teenager, I still have my ups and downs now and again, but i still stay positive and never give up.
In my blog i write about my daily life, and my opinions and views on certain things and i bring up topics and information that i think needs to be passed on!!
Leave a comment - love reading comments from people :)
If anyone wants to get in contact with me.
Mail me here --> lifewithoutanorexia@hotmail.com